Huge tunnel deep under Niagara Falls opens for visitor tours

Nov. 2 (UPI) -- A huge tunnel deep underneath Niagara Falls on the Canadian side that had been closed to visitors for more than 100 hundred years has been opened to reveal the engineering behind it.

The 2,198-foot tunnel was built to help handle the cascading water forces. Since July, it has been part of the tour of the decommissioned Niagara Parks Power Station.

That power station was active from 1905 to 2006, diverting water from the falls to provide electricity for regional industry and Buffalo, N.Y.

The tunnel is 180 feet beneath the power station. A glass-paneled elevator takes visitors down to the tunnel.

According to Niagara Parks, the tunnel tour will "take you along the same path traveled by water and lead you to a viewing platform where the tunnel emptied into the Niagara River."

The huge tunnel was excavated in 1901 using only rudimentary dynamite, lanterns, pickaxes and shovels, according to Niagara Parks.

Niagara Parks says it offers unprecedented access to a new perspective of the lower Niagara River and the tour is included with regular admission to the power station.

There are story markers throughout the station that can be scanned with mobile devices to enrich the tour experience.